Maxim Vinyarski: “Riot policemen uttered threats of rape to girls”

In the police department of Tsentralny (Central) district of Minsk riot policemen continued to subject the detained participants of the peaceful protest rally to humiliation and beatings.

The www.charter97.org was told about that by one of the detained demonstrators, an activist of the civil campaign “European Belarus” Maxim Vinyarski.

“As soon as we line up on the square with portraits of Viktar Hanchar and Anatol Krasouski, a banner and a flag of “European Belarus”, people in mufti ran up to us and formed ranks opposite to us. We sat on the ground as a sign of protest. Riot policemen started to utter threats: well, you are sitting, but we’ll make all of you stand up soon. Then riot policemen in uniform ran to us. We were screened from the journalists, for them not to see anything. They started to seize us, and using force hustled us into the arriving police buses. My glasses and glasses of Zmitser Barodka were broken. Riot policemen simply trample them underfoot by their boots.

We were taken to the police department of Tsentralny district. We were taken to a gym and made switch off mobile phones. Then all of us were driven out to the corridor and ordered to stand out faces to the wall and hands behind the back. We were standing like this for 2.5 hours. Policemen of the police department of Tsentralny district openly used riot policemen as trained dogs.

If a person refused to be fingerprinted, he was taken to the next room, made stand face to the wall and beaten all over the body. I saw that out of the corner of my eye and heard orders of riot policemen and people’s screams. Certainly I couldn’t see who exactly was beaten, but it was done to 5 or 6 detained. When I shouted: “Stop this lawlessness!” I was ordered to stand and not turn around. In a while riot policemen turned their attention to me and kicked me in kidney area a few times. They openly uttered threats of a rape to one of the girls. When all of us were released, and we were standing near the building of the police department, Mikola Dzemidzenka from the Young Front tried to say something to riot policemen, in response they seized him, dragged him on the ground and beat,” Maxim Vinyarski said.

As we have informed, yesterday during the peaceful rally dedicated to the 10th anniversary of disappearance of opposition leaders Viktar Hanchar and Anatol Krasouski, 35 persons were arrested in Minsk.